Cessna 208B N208TF

Summary

On 6 March 2002 at about 16:03 local time, a Cessna 208B registered N208TF, operated by Tatonduk Outfitters Ltd, was involved in an accident near Barrow, Alaska, United States. 5 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 March 2002 at 16:03

Classification

Accident

Location

Barrow, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

70.6169, -155.0014

Aircraft

Cessna 208B

Registration

N208TF

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Tatonduk Outfitters Ltd

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Deadhorse → Barrow

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC02FA020

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's continued flight into adverse weather conditions, and an inadvertent stall. Factors associated with the accident are fog, obscuration, and icing conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The air taxi pilot was flying four passengers and cargo to a remote camp and airstrip surrounded by principally flat, snow-covered tundra. He had difficulty locating the airstrip due to ice fog and reduced visibility, and initially flew over the top of the runway. A passenger saw the airstrip, and about the same time, the camp operator radioed the pilot that the airplane had just passed the camp. The pilot made a descent and an approach to the airstrip, but the airplane stalled and collided with terrain about 1/4 mile short of the runway. The camp operator noted that at the time of the accident there was ice fog in the area, and a portion of the runway was not visible due to the fog. He estimated the horizontal visibility to be about 3/4 of a mile. Postaccident inspection of the airplane disclosed approximately 1/2 inch of ice on the airplane's left lift strut and main landing gear leg. The pilot said after the accident that either a cabin door or cargo pod door may have opened during the approach. Postaccident inspection, and interviews with passengers, disclosed no evidence of an in-flight cargo or cabin door opening, and crush lines on the cargo pod door are consistent with the door being closed at impact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.